LG G Watch R review: The most watch-like smartwatch you can buy

Smartwatches are a thing now, even if they are still selling in modest numbers. Most companies that make phones are also now in the business of making watches. We are in the second proper year of devices like these - Sony has been doing smartwatches for a while now, but they hardly set the world alight, and the same goes for the other Bluetooth devices that have been around since at least 2007.

The LG G Watch R has been one of the more hotly anticipated devices. For one thing, it's round, and that's hard to do with current technology. Only LG and Motorola have managed it thus far. But there's more to the design of the LG than just being round. It looks the most like a watch, and on your wrist it feels like any other watch. It's weighted well, and super-comfortable. So let's take a look at this device in more detail, and find out what it has going for it.

Round is more watchlike

There are plenty of square watches in the world, and some of the most amazing timepieces ever, like the gorgeous Tag Heuer Monaco, have had square faces. But for some reason, when it came to smartwatches the designs everyone went crackers over were round. So the Moto 360 and the LG G Watch R have been the most hotly anticipated devices so far.

The Moto 360 is, it has to be said, gorgeous, but some problems exist with its less than stellar battery life, and the black cut-out at the bottom of the screen, which makes white watch faces look absolutely awful. Even so, the screen is large and flat which makes using it as a smartwatch very pleasant.

The LG G Watch R on the other hand has been specifically engineered to look as much like a watch as possible. And LG has managed two things, firstly to make a watch that you almost can't tell isn't a "real" watch, and secondly create something that does live up to the hype.

Design

Made from metal, with a real leather strap, the G Watch R feels like it will last a long time, without getting scuffed or looking tatty. The leather on our review sample is already showing some ageing, but hopefully it will just make the device look more like a watch, and less like a "device".

Around the edge is a raised bezel which contains markers for minutes. This is somewhat unnecessary as a digital watch face could easily include these, but somehow it really helps. It's also reasonable to assume that the raised bezel gives some degree of protection over you accidentally smashing the face if you hit it on a wall or something.

There is a button on the side of the watch too. Really, this has one use, and that's to reset the watch if it ever crashes. This has happened to us once in the time we've been reviewing the device. You can use the button to turn the watch on when you need to check something, but it's far easier to just tap the screen. Still, the button adds to the watch aesthetic, and looks good.

On the back of the device there's a heart rate monitor, which shines a green light through your skin to take measurements, and there's a little charging port. LG hasn't gone for QI charging as Motorola did with the 360. That's a mixed bag, but the way it charges is pleasant enough and the plate is magnetised to keep the watch in place.

Two modes

If you're desperate to save the battery for as long as possible, then you'll want to get the watch to turn its screen off when you're not using it. This might give you a few more hours, but in the time we've had the watch we haven't really felt that it was worth the extra time to have no display.

Instead, we opted to use the "always on" mode, which saves power when you're not using the device, but still displays the time. It saves power by dimming the screen, and turning off the animations that show the second hands, and other moving objects.

Our advice is to use the watch in its always on mode, otherwise you're going to get frustrated with it, as the motion sensitivity is quite low, and so turning it on via a wrist movement can create problems.

Android Wear

Android Wear is in its infancy, and honestly it shows. The design is bold and pleasant, but it doesn't work well on the round screen, and information blocks out the watch face, so casually looking at the screen won't always give you a way to tell the time.

But there is a real problem with the OS that is more closely linked to Google Now than anything else. There is no way to choose what you access on the watch. So emails that have come in can be browsed once, but when you dismiss them you can't then get them back on screen - instead you have to get your phone out.

Google Now also operates automatically. So you have no real control over what information it displays. For example, one day you'll be given directions to a meeting that it's found in your calendar. The next, the watch will ignore the meeting and give you nothing.

Android Wear needs some real work before it's up to the standard you'd hope for such devices.

Voice control works well

For the most part, Android Wear's strongest asset is voice control. There are caveats though, like its problems understanding some British pronunciation. It's mostly good, but there were times it would get totally the wrong end of the stick.

Asking for directions to places by saying "give me walking directions to London Bridge" works well, and you get step by step updates, with the watch vibrating when it has a new direction for you to take. It's a nice system.

You can send text messages, reply to Google Hangouts and search the web all using your voice if you so desire. That's fine when you're alone, but be prepared for widespread ridicule when you do it in front of friends, and looks of concern for your mental health when you're in public.

Bluetooth is handy

Although the watch has limited use away from the phone, if you have a Google Music subscription, you can opt to sync your downloaded songs to your G Watch R. With roughly 4GB of storage on-board, you can certainly fit on enough music to go for a run. You'll need Bluetooth headphones though.

The watch can count your steps, and when LG sends its Android Lollipop update to the G3, you'll also be able to sync your heart rate readings back to LG's health app - which is rather well designed in itself.

Android has also "Fit" its own tracking app. We found it to be rather rubbish though, giving some fairly inconsistent readings, and being obsessed over the amount of time you spend being active more than what you did.

Battery life

You'll get a day out of the battery on the G Watch R without much trouble at all. Switch off the "always-on" screen, and you might stretch that to two days. But frankly, we'd rather have it on all the time and charge it every night. After all, you're almost certainly charging your phone anyway. Some people argue that charging your watch every night is ridiculous. Those people are idiots, as no-one needs to wear their watch while they sleep, so having it charge is no more bother than whipping it off before bed and popping it on its charging pad.

Verdict

The LG G Watch R is great. Its design and features are fantastic and it feels natural on the wrist. It's not too big, or too small. Google Now and Android Wear have some way to go before they're a natural companion for wearable devices. Much of what the platform does is great, but for information access you have to let Google take charge, and that can be frustrating.

As good as voice navigation is too, it's always problematic in public, and in loud places it can be unreliable. Even so, with such small screens there are not a huge number of ways for you to interact with a wearable that doesn't make use of voice.

If you want an Android Wear device, this and the Moto 360 are the two to consider. The 360 is less expensive, but has some issues. The LG is an almost perfect piece of hardware, somewhat hampered by Google's OS. Whichever round device you get though, we think you'll be thrilled with how it looks on your wrist.